EP3657736A1 - Cable-connected and combined communication connection and energy supply of sensors in buildings - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for locating the animals of a herd of cattle in the area of a barn (10) is provided with a bus line (16), bus subscribers having a plurality of receiving antennas for arrangement in or on a barn (10), the multiple receiving antennas being designed to transmit radio signals from transmitters to receive, which can be carried by animals located in the area of the stable (10). The device is also provided with a control and supply unit (14) connected to the bus line (16) for unidirectional or bidirectional data communication with the bus participants (12) and for supplying the bus participants (12) with electrical energy. The bus participants (12) are connected to the bus line (16) and are connected via the bus line (16) to the control and supply unit (14) both for data communication and for energy supply.

Description

The invention relates to the wired and combined communication connection and energy supply of sensors in buildings. In particular, the invention relates to a device for locating the animals of a herd of cattle in the area of a stable.

State of the art

If the measuring devices or sensors to be installed in a barn only require electricity because they either function autonomously or exchange data by radio, the only thing left to do is to lay one power cable per device in the barn. But if the devices have to exchange wired data, e.g. B. because the communication is time-critical and therefore wireless technologies are unsuitable, in addition to power cables, other cables, namely data cables, must be laid.

In addition, a star topology has so far been used for the network cables. In addition, a star topology was previously used for the wiring of measuring devices and sensors in a barn for data communication. Starting from a central feed point 14 ', be it the power distribution box in the barn 10' or a data router, cables 18 'are laid to the individual devices 12'. This is in Fig. 1 visualized.

Disadvantages and limitations

For the installation, this means not only additional costs for the material, but above all an increased effort for the laying of the cables. If the building is not easily accessible because the constructional or operational processes make this difficult or impossible, this means laying effort is a considerable problem. This is particularly important for animal stables, since it is difficult to lay new cables here. On the other hand - in large stables with many animals - the costs for the wiring can quickly exceed the theoretical costs for the measuring devices. In this case, an actually useful and wanted technology or product becomes practically and de facto economically unprofitable.

In addition, "laypersons" may not install, modify, or repair electrical systems that are connected to the public electricity supply network (Section 13 of the Low Voltage Connection Ordinance). This work must be carried out by an installation company entered in an installer directory of a network operator.

Furthermore, each measuring device must be connected to the feed-in point so that it can draw power or exchange wired data. However, this approach is not efficient in terms of the amount of cables to be laid (in meters).

invention

The object of the invention is to simplify the communication connection and energy supply of sensors in stables.

• einer Busleitung,
• mehreren Empfangsantennen aufweisenden Busteilnehmern zur Anordnung in oder an einem Stall,
• wobei die mehreren Empfangsantennen dazu ausgelegt sind, Funksignale von Sendern zu empfangen, die von sich im Bereich des Stalls befindenden Tieren mitführbar sind,
• einer an die Busleitung angeschlossenen Steuer- und Versorgungseinheit zur uni- oder bidirektionalen Datenkommunikation mit den Busteilnehmern und zur Versorgung der Busteilnehmer mit elektrischer Energie, und
• wobei die Busteilnehmer an die Busleitung angeschlossen sind und über die Busleitung mit der Steuer- und Versorgungseinheit sowohl für die Datenkommunikation als auch zur Energieversorgung verbunden sind.

To achieve this object, the invention proposes a device for locating the animals of a herd of cattle in the area of a barn, which is provided with

• a bus line,
• several bus antennas with receiving antennas for arrangement in or on a stall,
• the plurality of receiving antennas being designed to receive radio signals from transmitters which can be carried by animals located in the area of the stall,
• a control and supply unit connected to the bus line for unidirectional or bidirectional data communication with the bus participants and for supplying the bus participants with electrical energy, and
• wherein the bus subscribers are connected to the bus line and are connected via the bus line to the control and supply unit both for data communication and for energy supply.

With the invention, a bus system is proposed for the application in a barn, which serves both the energy supply and the data communication. A large number of bus users are connected to the bus line, each of which has at least one receiving antenna. The receiving antennas receive signals from sensors that are carried by animals in the area of the barn. The transmitters either transmit time-division multiplexed or at different frequencies, signals which are received by the receiving antennas. The position of the transmitter and thus the position of the animal in the barn can then be detected by methods known per se. If the system is only to be used to record the presence of an animal in the area of a barn, then according to the invention it is not absolutely necessary to locate the animal, but rather only presence detection.

The use of a bus system with a bus line for both the data communication and the electrical energy supply of bus participants with receiving antennas for arrangement in a stall for location, i. H. cattle farming is generally not known for determining the position or for the presence of an animal in the herd. The invention provides a remedy here.

It is particularly advantageous if the bus line is designed like a "daisy chain". This has the advantage that, starting from a bus subscriber electrically connected to the bus line, the next bus subscriber is connected by an electrical connection to be installed between the two becomes. This means that there is no longer a need to lay a separate line per bus subscriber to the control and supply unit. Rather, the "daisy chain" bus line is built up from bus subscriber to bus subscriber. The bus subscriber closest to the control and supply unit is connected to this unit via a bus line section.

In a further expedient embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the bus line has a plurality of bus line branches which extend from the control and supply unit. Each bus line branch is then, as described above, constructed as "daisy chaining" and consists of individual separate bus line sections between, based on the first bus subscriber, the control and supply unit and the said first bus subscriber and from then on between adjacent bus subscribers.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung der bisherigen Verkabelung mehrerer Geräte in einem Stall mit einem Einspeisungspunkt für die Kommunikation oder für die Energieversorgung und

Fig. 2

eine schematische Darstellung der erfindungsgemäßen Verkabelung für die Datenkommunikation und Stromversorgung mehrerer Geräte in einem Stall.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment and with reference to the drawing. The following show in detail:

Fig. 1

is a schematic representation of the previous wiring of several devices in a barn with a feed point for communication or for energy supply and

Fig. 2

a schematic representation of the wiring according to the invention for data communication and power supply of several devices in a stable.

The invention provides a system for supplying sensors with power on the one hand and ensuring the data and communication connection on the other hand. So far, various cable systems have been installed in order to install sensors or measuring devices in buildings such as stables, namely a first one for the power supply and another one for data exchange. The invention describes a method for using a cable system for both, so that the material costs and the installation effort are significantly reduced. So according to the invention via network cable transmit additional power or - if the power cabling already exists in the building - data via power cables to avoid unnecessary cable installations. This is particularly important for animal stables, since new cables can hardly be laid here.

This is where the invention comes in, by proposing a device in which devices in a barn can draw wired power more efficiently and effectively and exchange data.

A first embodiment of the invention relates to the case where no power cables are brought forward or can be used in the barn. In this case, both data and power cables would have to be installed with great effort. For this purpose, the invention uses the so-called power supply via Ethernet (Power over Ethernet - PoE). This is a procedure based on the IEEE 802.3at standard, with which network-compatible devices can be supplied with power via a normal network cable.

This not only means that two cables do not have to be laid, it also eliminates the need for electrical installation by laying the power cables. For this purpose, a network router or switch is installed in the building, which supports PoE and not only supplies data but also electricity at its ports. Commercially available network cables according to the TIA-568A / B standard, which are also referred to as patch cables, with RJ-45 plugs are then connected to these ports. Then this patch cable can be used to supply the device with power (up to 25.5 W) and to exchange data in accordance with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard.

A second variant of the invention represents an expansion of what has been said above. In order to eliminate the problems of the star-shaped network topology, the invention further uses what is known as "daisy chaining". This means a process that connects a number of hardware components together in series. The first device is still directly connected to the entry point (cf. Fig. 1 ). The other components are now included connected to their predecessors (series connection principle), creating a chain. The advantage is that significant cables can be saved, since with every additional device in the building the entire route back to the entry point does not have to be cabled. Technically, this can be combined perfectly with data and power transmission with patch cables.

The third embodiment of the invention is provided in the event that a power supply is already present in the building, the wiring of which can be used to connect the devices for data communication. For this purpose, the already installed power cables are used to not only ensure the power supply, but also to transmit data. For this purpose, carrier frequency systems (TFA) can be used to transmit data via an existing power grid. This is also referred to as PowerLine or PowerLAN, whereby existing electrical power lines in the low-voltage network are used to set up a local network for data transmission. Corresponding adapters for the power grid are standardized according to the home plug or IEEE 1901 standard. This means that data can be transmitted via the network cable, so that no communication infrastructure is required and therefore there is no need for cables and their installation.

In Fig. 2 an example of the cabling topology achievable with the device according to the invention is shown. In a barn 10, several devices are preferably attached to the walls, which are bus subscribers 12 with receiving antennas for locating animals in a herd by radio. Each animal carries a radio transmitter for sending radio signals for the location, which is based on one of several different methods known per se (e.g. TDoA method - time difference of arrival). The bus subscribers 12 are connected in the manner of a daisy chain topology to a control and supply unit 14, both for data communication and for energy supply. For this purpose, a bus line 16 is provided, which can have one or more branches 18, each of which extends from the control and supply unit 14. In the example of the Fig. 2 there are two bus line branches 18 of this type. Each bus line branch 18 of the bus line 16 has individual bus line sections 20, which each connect adjacent components which are connected to the relevant bus line branch 18 to one another. The peculiarity here is that the bus system can be easily expanded by connecting further bus users 12 to the last bus user 12 of the bus line branch 18 via a bus line section 20. There are therefore no separate cable connections to be laid from each individual bus subscriber 12 to the control and supply unit 14. The bus subscribers 12 of each bus line branch 18 are rather coupled to one another in the manner of a series connection. This can be done, for example, by arranging a splitter for each bus subscriber 12 in the bus line, to which the bus subscriber 12 is connected. The individual bus line sections then extend from splitter to splitter. Alternatively, a bus subscriber 12 can also have two bus connections, with which the two bus line sections starting from a bus subscriber 12 and leading to the neighboring bus subscribers are then connected.

The invention has been described above with the aid of networked devices in the form of receiving antennas for locating or detecting the presence of animals in a herd in a surveillance area, such as a barn. With the concept according to the invention, of course, other devices can also be networked for the purpose of simplifying data communication and energy supply. Such other devices can be, for example, weather stations that record ambient temperature and humidity. The collection of such data for herd management is quite interesting, since the behavior of the herd can depend on such parameters. As a further example of devices to be networked according to the invention, reference is also made to cameras with which the behavior of the animals in a herd can be monitored. In this respect, the invention is therefore directed to devices for the acquisition and provision of data for herd management which can be networked in a manner for the energy supply and data communication.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

10th

barn

12

Bus participants

14

Supply unit

16

Bus line

18th

Bus line branch

20th

Bus line section

Claims (3)

Device for locating the animals of a herd of cattle in the area of a stable, with - a bus line (16), - Several bus antennas (12) with receiving antennas for arrangement in or on a stall (10), - The plurality of receiving antennas are designed to receive radio signals from transmitters that can be carried by animals located in the area of the barn (10), - A control and supply unit (14) connected to the bus line (16) for unidirectional or bidirectional data communication with the bus participants (12) and for supplying the bus participants (12) with electrical energy, and - The bus participants (12) are connected to the bus line (16) and are connected via the bus line (16) to the control and supply unit (14) both for data communication and for energy supply. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bus line (16) has a plurality of bus line sections (20), of which a first bus line section (20) extends between the control and supply unit (14) and a first bus subscriber (12), starting from a second bus line section (20) extends from the first bus subscriber (12) to a second bus subscriber (12), and that in this way each bus subscriber (12) is connected to adjacent bus subscribers (12) via a respective bus line section (20). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bus line (16) has at least two bus line branches (18), each of which extends from the control and supply unit (14), that each bus line branch (18) has a plurality of bus line sections (20) of which a first bus line section (20) extends between the control and supply unit (14) and a first bus subscriber (12), starting from this first bus subscriber (12), a second bus line section (20) up to a second bus subscriber ( 12), and that in this way each bus subscriber (12) of the relevant bus line branch (18) is connected to adjacent bus subscribers (12) via a respective bus line section (20).

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